Sunday, June 3

CalChess Top Age Lists

2007 World U12 Champion!

Welcome to yet another installment of the unofficial CalChess Top Age Lists! This edition is derived from the June 2012 USCF Top 100 Lists, with each player's age given as of May 1. Congratulations to 109 local juniors of all ages who achieved a national ranking among their peers, plus a dozen girls in the two gender-specific categories. I can assure you that Dr. Alan Kirshner, who introduced these lists last century, is proud of the achievements by all!

Out of these 109 talented kids, a few deserve an even greater distinction. Thus we ask: Who's on first? The answer is IM Daniel Naroditsky, who has been #1 for seven straight years! He is 16 years old now and no longer needs a booster seat to play with adults, but he owns a gold medal as the 2007 World Youth U12 champion. The Bay Area has actually seen multiple #1s in recent years, but not at the moment.

Check out the following lists for those Northern California juniors who earned a top 5, top 15 or top 25 national ranking. I counted 12 gold medals (top 5), 15 silver medals (6-15) and 9 bronze medals (16-25). Indeed 35 kids made not only the top 100, but the top 25 for their age! Congratulations to all!!

(Sorry guys, the Fpawn Chess Blog medals are not quite as genuine as the one Naroditsky owns. In fact, they are barely worth the bytes on which they have been stored.)

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About the Blog

Check here for tournament reports and the latest chess news from Michael "fpawn" Aigner. Find out where fpawn has played recently. Emphasis on:1. fpawn's students and friends,2. Northern California chess events,3. national or international chess news (especially involving local players).Say hi when you surf in, but please keep comments clean and sign your name.

Who Is Fpawn

Mr. Aigner remains an active chess tournament player, coach and community supporter in Northern California. He refuses to surrender to little munchkins trying to eat his rating points. He firmly believes that chess teachers should practice what they preach, even if that means competing head-to-head against students and their peers. In that spirit, he aspires to reaching 2300 again after several years at or near the 2200 floor.